Though the driving on February 24th was a bit treacherous, the Upper Valley sent several representatives to VHCC’s Legislative Day in Montpelier. In the morning, we heard from leaders in both the Senate and the House of their support for affordable housing and land conservation in Vermont, but this funding has not yet been secured.

The Governor’s budget includes $6.1 million of state funds for VHCB. VHCB advocates have asked for a total state investment level of $11, which would still be a 4% reduction from the level warranted by the existing state statute formula. Recognizing that state general fund dollars are in short supply, there is a lot of discussion about a multi-million dollar investment into VHCB through the Capital Bill to supplement the $6.1M property transfer tax figure.